


Pets Win Hearts, Not Prizes

by theprincessed



Series: Aaron Week 2018 [6]
Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Aaron Dingle POV, Arguing, Attempt at Humor, Dogs, Family Fluff, Future Fic, Gen, M/M, Pets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-17
Updated: 2018-11-17
Packaged: 2019-08-20 09:59:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16553651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theprincessed/pseuds/theprincessed
Summary: The story of how Aaron and Robert find a pet to fit their family.(Day 6: Cuteness Overload)





	Pets Win Hearts, Not Prizes

**Author's Note:**

> Hiya! Man, I gotta stop thinking I'm funny with titles sometimes. ;) This was borne out of being stuck on the prompt and then inspired by me already having written Day 7, so they sort of flow nicely into each other and I had a lot of fun with this in the end.
> 
> Iolo is pronounced 'yol-o' as opposed to 'yo-lo' because its Welsh and not an acronym. He and Wolfie are mine, everything else isn't.
> 
> Hope you enjoy x

Aaron and Robert are enjoying a pint in the pub when Robert shifts his arm on their booth and looks at his husband. Aaron knows what's coming.

"Should we talk about it then?"

Aaron glances behind the bar that leads to the backroom. "The boys could come through any minute - "

"Aaron - "

"Alright, fine." He holds his hands up, but buys time with another gulp of beer.

"So, you want to get a pet?" Robert encourages gently.

"Not just me! I think it'd be good for them too, teach them responsibility or whatever."

"Okay," Robert chuckles. "Let's get something. Any ideas?"

"Did, uh - did I hear you say you're getting a pet?" Paddy asks. Robert puts down his glass and Paddy nervously twists his hands together. "Sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop. I was just walking past and - "

"Paddy," Aaron interrupts his babbling. "Sit down."

"Yep. Okay."

He slides in to the seat opposite them and smiles. "I think I can help."

It's famous last words as, that same afternoon, Paddy shows them a budgie that's been brought in to the surgery. She'd been set free from an owner who clearly didn't want her anymore and she'd injured her foot. Now she is fighting fit and ready to fly.

"Good job she comes with a cage then." Robert mutters, crouched to squint at the bright yellow and green feathered bird sat in the corner.

"Oh!" Paddy gasps and Aaron frowns, not letting Robert's lack of enthusiasm ruin this for them. He'll get used to it.

"What?"

"Well. Normally I'd advise you buy everything you need before you take her home." Aaron sighs, visions of surprising the kids when they've had enough of hanging out at Nana Chas' disappearing before Paddy's expression turns thoughtful. "Tell you what, how about a trial? Take her for a week and see if you and the boys get along with her."

"Really?" Aaron hugs his dad. "Mate, thank you, honestly."

Paddy pats his back. "Only because it's you. Don't tell anyone."

It takes 24 hours before Aaron has lost the battle against Robert to keep her. It's not really his fault that she'd seemed calm and timid, but she was anything but. She'd been let out of the cage and gone straight for Robert's head and that was it.

"He says she tried to have his eye out," Aaron rolls his eyes, putting the budgie and her cage on Pearl's desk.

Paddy frowns. "Hmm, she was aggressive? Maybe she's in the mood to breed."

Aaron snorts. "Robert definitely isn't. Think I'm on the sofa tonight."

Paddy looks at him, unconvinced. Okay, maybe he won't be demoted quite that far, but he absolutely won't be getting whatever the budgie seems to be after as well.

\---

From the budgie incident, Emmerdale's Veterinary Centre becomes the hub of operations for Aaron and Robert to try allsorts of animals out in their family. A couple of weeks after the "she-devil" as Robert dubbed her, Paddy calls Aaron with news of a cat. Now, cats aren't really Aaron's thing but it's Robert that convinces him this time and he figures he owes his husband this one. He's skeptical that he'll last anyway.

"They're practically self-sufficient, Aaron." Robert says as they walk the familiar road to the surgery. "It's gonna be so easy, you won't even know it's there. Cat food in a bowl, water in another, done."

"You seem to have this all figured out," Aaron comments. Robert stops before opening the door and stares. Not worth the hassle, Aaron backs down. "I'm just saying. Getting a pet isn't so bad, is it?"

"Maybe not." Robert grins.

The cat in question is male and Aaron feels like they have a mutual dislike from the moment they clap eyes on each other. He's groomed enough and disease-free, but something about the way he prowls around the floor sets Aaron on edge. He hopes this little black fella with the green eyes is ready for some heavy-handed stroking back home.

As they sit on their haunches in the examination room, the cat slinks towards them and rubs up against Robert's thigh. Of course Robert responds to anything with that much cunning charm and Aaron watches them bond, admittedly impressed when he kneads his paws into Robert's lap and eventually sits down.

"See? He's perfect."

Aaron really needs to learn to say no to that handsome face.

But fate intervenes.

As they leave the surgery with the cat, Robert refuses to put him back in his carrier. Instead, he stays in his arms like the spoilt king he's probably going to be and Aaron bites back any retorts that Robert looks the world's worst Bond villain when his husband's phone starts ringing in his suit jacket pocket.

"I can get it for ya," he offers.

"No, no - take him," Robert replies, thrusting the cat at him.

Aaron's barely got a hold on him when Robert answers the call to a potentially lucrative Home James client he's been tempting for a while. The cat is still wriggling in his arms when he looks down, pleading with his eyes. "Alright, nice kitty - we're taking you home - good kitty,"

The cat's eyes seem to flash dangerously before he hisses loudly and swipes at Aaron's hand with his very sharp claws. With a shout of surprise, his reflexes make him let go and the cat lands on its feet before dashing off in the direction of the many fields around them. Gritting his teeth through the pain and clutching his hand between his thighs, he looks over at Robert nearby, open-mouthed in stunned silence, the phone still pressed to his ear.

No bird. No cat. Aaron wonders if they should try something a bit more out of the ordinary.

\---

They've not even left the vets when Robert says no.

"But look at his face," Aaron grins, stroking the head of the brown and white ferret he's holding. 

The ferret's beady eyes look straight at Robert before he jumps from Aaron's arms to his shoulder, his tail curling around his neck like a furry collar. Paddy ignores them until he's needed, too used to them coming in and having a domestic.

"He's fully trained!" Pearl pipes up from her desk, smiling at them from over the top of her glasses. "Won competitions and everything, apparently. Poor darling owner is too ill to look after the little mite now."

They let her have her moment before Aaron raises his eyebrows at Robert, challenging, but he shakes his head adamantly.

"What am I? One of those weird old men who have nothing better to do than drink Yorkshire ale and race these rats? No. Just no, Aaron."

With the memory of the cat with an anger problem still fresh, Aaron smiles cheekily. He doesn't mind if Robert thinks he's pulling his leg. There might be some truth in it, but to his mind he deserves it. Now they're even.

\---

"This isn't about you, y'know." Paddy says as sternly and as unflinching as he can manage. "It's about finding a pet a good home with good people. You have to take this seriously."

Aaron folds his lips together. "Yes, boss."

"Cheeky - " he mutters, not following through on the insult.

Robert sighs, ready to get on with it. "What is it this time then? Tropical fish? Chinchilla? Bearded dragon?"

"You are such a nerd." Aaron rolls his eyes as Paddy disappears to where all the sick animals are recovering to return with a fairly small open tank. "What's in there?"

Paddy nods wordlessly with a smile and lets them peer in. Aaron's not scared, but Robert recoils instantly. "Oh god! Is that a snake?"

Paddy gently picks up the snake from its tank and, unperturbed, Aaron reaches out to run his finger over its scales. "Hey, mate."

"She's a three year old royal or ball python and they're a common choice for pet snakes, particularly for your first one because they're docile and don't grow the size of a room," Paddy chuckles, switching the length of her between his hands. "On average, the females grow to be three to five feet long, but this one's been through the wars a bit, haven't you?"

Paddy lifts her head and Aaron winces in sympathy. One eye is so damaged she must be blind. With a dark brown, thin body, her gold blotches stand out as well as her cream belly and black eyes. She's beautiful. Aaron watches her forked tongue flick out leisurely and tries to find Robert's arm without taking his eyes off her, mesmerised.

"Robert, look! She's amazing. Have a feel, she's warm!"

He touches her quickly. "Yeah, warm."

Aaron strokes her dry skin some more and chuckles. "Can't believe ya can do this, but Rhona and Vanessa have to deal with the horses," he says to Paddy as Robert loiters behind them.

"Horses can trample."

It's a fair point and Aaron's in no place to judge as he prepares to take his new snake home. It's the end of the working day, so Robert has no excuse to rush off to a meeting etc. Besides, Aaron wants them to do this together because he's going to have to get used to her.

As soon as he comes through the door with a tank, Seb is excited before he lets his hesitancy get the better of him.

"What is he?" the eight year old asks, holding onto the sofa warily.

"It's a she and it's a royal python." 

Aaron sets the tank on the coffee table as Liv and Seb sit down. Curious to be included and having just learnt the wobbly walk of a toddler, their youngest son, Iolo, comes over to them, but accidentally bumps into the tank's glass with both hands, startling everyone peering inside as well as her. Suddenly alert to danger that isn't there, the snake's tail knocks into the glass with a dull thud as she thrashes around quickly.

Iolo promptly bursts into tears.

Alarmed, Robert quickly gathers him into his arms. "Oh sweetheart, it's okay - don't cry, everyone's here. You just made her jump, that's all - Shh, it's alright, come on, shh - Daddy's got you - "

Aaron glances at Seb beside him with his continued reluctance and Liv already on her phone, disinterested, and he sighs.

This isn't going to work either.

\---

Aaron ties his laces and stands up, shaking out his hands and feet. He decides to warm up properly outside and pockets his keys and phone before nudging Liv's feet off the coffee table so he can get by.

"Right, I'm off."

Robert looks up from where he's supervising Iolo eating his tea in his high chair at the kitchen table. Aaron has so many memories from them taking turns to feed and then later watch Seb do the same when he was Iolo's age that he can't help smiling. Curled up in the armchair, Seb cranes his neck to see around his dad because Aaron is unintentionally blocking his view of the TV.

"Okay, take it easy. And don't be too long. I've got the pasta on for ours already." Robert warns, wiping Iolo's orange mouth as it's getting a little too ridiculously messy with sauce and spaghetti, but it's his favourite.

Aaron nods and leaves, the early evening fresh air hitting his face as he stretches for a bit then sets off on a jog. Turning it into a brisk run to loop around and come back to the centre of the village, Aaron is running on Hotten Road when he spots something in the distance. The closer he gets, the more he recognises it as an animal of some kind, struggling to climb onto the road from a grassy ditch.

He frowns when he realises that it's a tiny black and white puppy limping with determination and that its not alone as an upturned cardboard box in the grass reveals several other puppies too. Horrified that they looked to have been dumped by the side of the road, Aaron gently picks up the puppy with the limp and returns her to the box with all her siblings. He counts eight in total, squeaking as they call for their mother who's never going to come. Aaron quickly removes his hoodie and tucks them in for warmth before hauling the box into his arms and deciding to head to Smithy Cottage. It's closer than Paddy at the pub and Aaron knocks on Rhona's door because he doesn't know if the puppies are in worse health than they look.

Predictably, she wasn't expecting to see him at this time in the evening. "Aaron, hello!" Her eyes fall on the box. "What's that?"

"I was out on a run and I found some puppies in this box." Aaron explains, keen to go next door. "I think they were dumped there."

"Okay," she answers calmly, opening the door. "Come through, I'll open the surgery."

Once in the vets, Aaron opens the box on the examination table and Rhona looks inside before reaching in, first for one and then another. They're so young and possibly traumatised that they simply flop down and stay put.

"Do you know what breed they are? Are they gonna be okay?" he asks, anxious.

Rhona smiles a little. "You did the right thing, bringing them here, and yeah, I do. I think they're blue merle border collies. A lovely breed, really, but some people are so heartless." She checks another one, a grey boy with a black patch on his head. "On first look, most of them look in fairly good condition, apart from this thin little guy and the pup with a limp."

"Sorry, I've gotta make a phonecall," Aaron says, his thoughts ticking over.

He rings Paddy and then Robert, telling them both to come to the vets. Robert actually arrives first, slightly out of breath, probably because Aaron didn't answer him when he asked if everything was alright. He gives him a chaste kiss hello to placate.

"Liv's watching the boys," Robert adds, calmer now that he knows Aaron is the hero in this story.

Paddy turns up and Aaron repeats his tale as they look at the eight puppies spread out on a warm blanket in the examination room. He watches one of them - a mostly white and grey female with two zig-zag stripes of black through her body and the brightest blue eyes he's ever seen on a dog - shuffle over to him and Robert. 

Nuzzling against their knuckles, Aaron feels the rasp of her tiny tongue give them a big lick and he grins. It's like she's chosen them for herself and when he looks at his husband, Paddy and Rhona, he sees from their faces that they think so too.

In a mirror image of the last few months, Aaron and Robert take an animal home with them. Unlike before, Aaron feels it in his bones that this one is perfect for them. Of course the real test comes when he presents the sleepy puppy to Liv and the boys. Liv raises her eyebrows, not quite believing that they might just pull this off and end up with a pet. Seb immediately wants to hold her and Iolo's toddler excitement knows no bounds as he runs towards Aaron's legs.

"WOOFIE!" he cries happily.

Silence descends for a moment until Aaron shakes his head. "We can't call her that. Even though you're my son and I love ya, it'll be embarrassing for all of us to shout her name around the village."

"What about Wolfie?" Seb pipes up. "She's mostly white and grey. Kinda wolfish, innit, Daddy?"

Both Aaron and Robert has to admit their son makes a good case. "Wolfie," Aaron tests the name out. He's heard a lot worse.

"Can I hold her?" Seb asks for the second time.

He passes Wolfie to him no problem, amused when she promptly licks ticklishly at Seb's fingers. To get in on the action, Iolo clumsily pats her head and Wolfie follows the movement, blinking, as she tries to chase after Iolo's hand with her muzzle to lick him as well, making him collapse onto his bum, shrieking joyously and giggling. His giddiness makes Seb laugh, starting a chain reaction with Liv and Aaron meets Robert's eyes as the sound sees him become overwhelmed with love for their family.

He doesn't have to ask Robert the question because he already knows the answer.

His husband keeping an eye on the new addition means Aaron gets to call Paddy to tell him the good news that it's mission accomplished, they have their pet. As long as no one comes forward, he's determined to keep her and he has a feeling lovely Wolfie is going to fit right in.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, lovelies x
> 
> I'm on tumblr at [theprincessed](http://www.theprincessed.tumblr.com). Come chat to me. :)


End file.
